York University Professor Dennis Pilon called the appointments “a slap in the face” for left-leaning Torontonians. “My response is ‘I told you so,’ ” he said in Metro Dec. 1. “This guy’s a conservative and now people are surprised that he’s surrounding himself with conservatives. Tory’s going to be a more effective Rob Ford. That’s what people voted for. They may not have thought they were voting for that, but that’s what they’ve got.” Read full story.
Newmarket Regional Councillor Taylor takes aim at chairperson post
Newmarket Regional Councillor John Taylor says he will run for regional chairperson Dec. 11, reported the Newmarket Era Dec. 1…. If he wins, Taylor said he has many issues he would focus on including the York University campus in Markham, the new hospital in Vaughan and job growth and creation across the region, with a particular emphasis on the northern area. Read full story.
How Indigo plans to become the world’s first ‘cultural department store’
Broadening the chain’s inventory also complicates its supply chain: The move into gifts requires an expanded buying team with different expertise, and it means dealing with a host of new, likely more decentralized suppliers, reported Canadian Business Nov. 26…. “They wouldn’t have been dealing with nearly as many suppliers when they were focusing on books, CDs and DVDs,” says Mark Thomas, who oversees the supply-chain and logistics management program at York University’s Schulich School of Business. Read full story.
Mosaic Institute announces 90 day inter-school challenge
Last week, the Mosaic Institute announced the “90-Day Inter-School Challenge,” a student-led campaign to promote awareness about sexual and gender violence in armed conflict. The campaign, which will consist of 90 days of social media promotion, discussions, and potential letter writing, is the outcome of the group’s November 15 Women & Armed Conflict event…. University of Toronto, York University and Ryerson University students will lead the campaign, reported the Varsity Dec. 1. Read full story.
Switching colleges in Ontario just got easier
An annual scholarship of $7,000 for a second-year MBA student in health industry management has been announced by York University’s Schulich School of Business in Toronto, reported the Globe and Mail Nov. 28. Read full story.
Study of York Region youth shows homelessness not just a Toronto problem
“When young people leave their communities and move to Toronto or some other big city, they become even more at risk of victimization or exploitation, and their health declines,” said York University Professor Stephen Gaetz, director of the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, in Exchange magazine Dec. 1. “Our research shows there were multiple missed opportunities for intervention. Some youth needed more family support to address conflict or abuse, some needed more support from school and others needed better access to mental health services and addictions treatment.” Read full story.
Christmas is the Super Bowl-equivalent for British ads. Here are the best so far
It’s an annual tradition, a showcase for advertising creativity that attracts big-budget competition. It is arguably the only time viewers actually look forward to watching some ads. In the United States, of course, that time is the Super Bowl. In the United Kingdom, however, it’s Christmas, reported the Globe and Mail Nov. 27…. “It gets an awful lot of chatter,” said Schulich School of Business marketing Professor Alan Middleton, who hails originally from London. “The production budgets to do a special ad for this crucial time of year are big.” Read full story.
Can reading a fictional story make you more empathetic?
In August 2014, Raymond Mar, a psychologist at York University in Canada, gave a lecture titled "Fiction and Its Relation to Real-World Empathy, Cognition, and Behavior," at the American Psychological Association's 122nd Annual Convention. In his lecture, Mar discussed how exposure to narrative fiction can improve theory of mind and someone’s ability to understand what other people are thinking, feeling and doing, reported Psychology Today Dec. 1. Read full story.
How propaganda shaped the American idea about breakfast
“Who knew that Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis and critic of all things American, was an unwitting contributor to the rise of Western consumer culture?” wrote York University doctoral student Lisa Held on LiveLeak.com Nov. 30. “Women sporting cigarettes as a symbol of female empowerment and the ubiquitous bacon-and-egg breakfast were two public relations campaigns inspired by Freudian ideas. The link between theory and practice was Edward L. Bernays, the acknowledged father of public relations and nephew of Sigmund Freud.” Read full story.